


The Long and winding road

by Daughter_Goldenwood



Category: GhostWalkers - Christine Feehan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 10:42:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7099603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_Goldenwood/pseuds/Daughter_Goldenwood





	The Long and winding road

The Arctic Fox waited; her body pressed tightly against the floor and hidden in the tall grass that surrounded the top secret military instalation, keeping her vision trained through the scope of her rifle she had a good view of the Base below her even under the cover of darkness. Watching as a door on the main compound flew open she tensed as several military personnel filled out followed by none other than Peter Whitney, keeping the scope trained on her target she watched him converse with the bases general before handshakes were offered and the Doctor followed by a small security team moved towards an armoured truck, the aging doctor climbed up into the back of the truck and his security team followed him. Inwardly cursing herself she pulled away from her position and moved back to the treeline that afforded her far more cover, the secret base was hidden by the large forest that surrounded it on all sides, the van carrying Whitney would eventually have to pass her by to leave the compound. Shouldering her weapon she took cover beneath the brush and activated her radio "Arctic Fox to Kaden.." nothing but static greeted her ears for a few moments before a click proceeded her team leaders voice 'Go ahead Amari' checking the progress of Whitney's van she sighed and shook her head "It looks like we were too late. Whitney is currently in an armoured army vehicle being transported off of the Base. He has a small unit with him. Possibly the second team. I recommend we pull out before one of the others detects us.."

Miles into the large forest which hid the Base the Ghostwalker Team Leader an Anchor named Kaden Montague shook his head to the others curious glances earning several curses from the other soldiers mouths 'Whitney has already done the deal. He is currently high tailing it out if here with another unit.. Amari is concerned that the other team will sense us.. ' The teams second in Command Ryland 'King' Miller came to stand behind the imposing figure of Kaden, laying a hand on his arm he shook his head 'You know she's right, right now nobody but us knows what we're after, there's no guarantee that if one of us was captured we'd be able to hide that plan. Right now we are in front because Whitney is entirely unaware.. let's get back to Base and regroup and see what our next move is..' nodding in agreement he ordered the men to pack up and get ready to move out, moving away from the team he clicked his radio to contact the Arctic Fox once more 'It's Kaden. We're pulling out. Get your ass to the rendezvous point and I'll have Gator pick you up..' 

Collapsing her weapon she shouldered it and began to move through the thick trees and towards the teams rendezvous point located on the other side of the compound, they hadn't prepared for Whitney moving forward in his plan with the rogue General that ran the Base they'd been waiting at. Stopping she dropped to her knees and fell silent, using a fallen branch for cover she hid as the sound that had disturbed her came closer to her position, cursing silently she began to move back towards the treeline and the Base. Careful to keep low and several paces in front the blonde knew it could have been just a regular normal sweep of the surrounding forest but was it mere coincidence? Since finally uncovering the full plot to Peter Whitney's twisted plans she no longer believed in coincidences, what she didn't need was to be apprehended by a bunch of over eager security guards. The team needed to get back to safety and plan their next move, if Whitney had achieved what they thought he had came for then they would all be in trouble with more soldiers being put through the same treatment the rest of them had. About to click her radio she stopped, her finger hovering over the button, not wanting to give away her position she settled behind a large oak and sent a wave of energy outwards with her mind.

Just outside the compounds perimeter the Ghostwalker Team had packed up and were moving towards the rendezvous in their own military truck, Kaden who was riding shotgun put his hand up to quieten the rambunctious team, turning to face Ryland whom was driving he pinched the ridge of his nose and exhaled slowly 'We have a problem. The Arctic Fox is pinned down. From what I can gather she's trapped in the forest by search teams. If she engages them then our cover is blown and we'll have to fight our way out...' Raul 'Gator' Fontenot leaned forward in his seat and put himself in between the skipper and second in commander 'I could always plant a diversion to get her out. But if we're going to do so we need to move fast..' he drawled in his thick Cajun accent.Turning over Gators idea he nodded and urged Ryland to continue forward 'Okay Gator you're with me. The rest of you continue onwards to the rendezvous point. Limited radio contact only we don't want to give her position away she's one of us..' Nodding to Ryland he nodded and understanding the unspoken command he slowed the large vehicle to a crawl, opening the trucks door the large imposing Kaden leapt out followed closely by Gator 'Good luck guys..' Miller called out behind them before putting his foot on the gas and racing towards their destination.

Amari almost gasped aloud when the plan reached her conscious mind, she didn't want anybody else compromised she merely wished to alert them to her position, rolling her eyes she moved from her cover and moving in perfect formation she silently stalked passed the bases security patrol, the two were loud mouthed neanderthals. She doubted that either of them had seen action they looked fresh out of training, tonight they were lucky for few witnessed the GhostWalkers in action and lived to tell the tale, dropping low to the ground as a faint light beam passed by her her fingers hovered over her sidearm. She didn't want to jeopardise the others positions but she wouldn't be able to engage the soldiers and not kill them such would be a sure sign they had been there 'I heard something. . Over there in the bushes..' The scared voice hesitated before clicking his own radio 'Corporal Henderson to Base...' The static of the waiting line filled the air, trapping the Arctic Fox in her hiding place 'Are you mad? If you call this in we'll be sweeping the bogs for a month' The silence dragged on for a few tense moments as Henderson weighed up his options, fresh out of the academy he'd been serving at Top Secret Army Base Corington, Codename: Phoenix Nest for eight months. In that time his main duties included Guard patrol, whilst it was a boring job in normal circumstances at Phoenix Nest things just weren't.. Right. He couldn't explain it, he'd been in the Military for nearly a year already and he knew that the government had its secrets that the public weren't privy to, sure he even knew that someone such as him didn't get to know the full extent of just what exactly happened at a Base like Corington but it was nothing like he expected.

He'd lingered too long, the Arctic Fox sensing her chance crawled away silently unbeknownst to the two worried soldiers, sighing he shook his head just as his radio clicked and a voice answered his original hail 'Go ahead..' sighing he turned on his heel and he and his accomplice moved in the opposite direction to Amari 'Sector two clear, we're moving back in. Henderson out.'   
Unable to hear their footsteps any longer the blonde stood up to her full height, senses on full alert and began to move at a faster pace towards the rendezvous. Clicking her radio twice she waited for one of the team to pick up her signal, ducking a particularly low dangling branch from an ancient oak tree she once again felt a disturbance around her, this time there was no hesitation she drew her weapon and clicked the safety off, pulling the small handgun up she slowly stalked through the trees silently. She was about to aim when she heard a twig snap in the distance, the sound foreign to the wood indicated intruder; larger than an animal, crouching she was about to pounce when she heard the thick drawl of Gator in the trees, rolling her eyes she approached him from the side and sneaking up on him unnoticed she aimed the weapon at his head and tutted loudly "And you call yourself a Marine. I could have had your head Gator.." Smirking at his ineptitude she feigned annoyance at his quiet Cajun curses aimed at her, laughing she catched the safety and stowed her pistol before slapping him on the arm playfully and moving to stand before him "You here on your own?.." ignoring his smirk she rolled her eyes and shook her head "Of course not.. Hi Bishop.." The six foot plus mass of imposing man that was Kaden Montague stepped into the small clearing which she'd caught Gator unawares scratching his beard he nodded to the other two 'What happened Amari? Intel said he wasn't even due in yet. The team weren't even in position.. And what had you pinned down?' Stifling a laugh at the funny face pulled by Raul she shook her head and sobered, this wasn't the time nor the place for fun. "The time we were given has to be wrong, from what I saw it looked like they had wrapped the deal up. We can't even begin to imagine how many they have up for the procedure.." they all fell silent for a moment each having suffered their own nightmares at the hand of the Peter Whitney tests, they each had a personal reason to want him taken down. Sighing she began to walk back towards the rendezvous point, the two falling into step besides her "As for what stopped me from reaching you guys, I didn't wanna give our position away, the forest is being swept even as we speak, we have to assume that Whitney will be accompanied by others like us. What's to say they never got the drop on us and moved ahead?.." again silence swept over their group and silently they moved towards the others.

On the dusty road a few clicks north of the others position the rest of the team shared their theories of what went down and what Whitney's next move would be, Ryland Miller however remained silent for several long moments, waiting to hear from Kaden and the others. None of them were stupid, they knew Whitney travelled with his own personal Ghostwalker unit specially trained to use the enhancements the Whitney Experiments caused, they couldn't afford to get caught up in a conflict with another unit. Hashing the team he clicked his radio twice and waited a few moments, the static filling the truck which had now grown silent as they awaited word from the others, Kaden was their Anchor and they needed him back without him the psychic backlash from using their enhancements could ultimately kill them. The radio clicked back in response and the southern drawl of Gator broke the silence in the cabin 'We're five minutes out..' cheers broke out in the truck and Miller allowed himself a small smile. 

Miles outside the Base the convey of Peter Whitney moved away from Corington and to Whitney's Labs, sat in the back of the armoured truck in between his private guard Peter Whitney kept a firm glare on the marine that sat opposite him on the bench with his head lowered, the youngest on the team Major Lance Murphy was the team psychic and having spent years mastering the genetic enhancement progress in his subjects Murphy was considered the best in the field. 'Well??..' The aging scientist demanded causing the marine to sway slightly on the spot 'The Alpha team were there; a two man patrol unit were disturbed in sector two, a location outside of the compound at Phoenix Nest. Control received a transmission from them at twenty-one nineteen. Unscheduled.. Current location is unknown..' nodding to the Marine Whitney stood up and walked the length of the truck to the front cabin, banging on the window he ordered a change of destination to the driver. Returning back to the benches he moved a young soldier down a little so that he could sit besides the only female in the contingent 'The Alpha team could pose a problem, we have to be prepared for sabotage. General Housner will need to be alerted, have him move the test subjects. We have to assume Phoenix Nest is compromised and fall to our back up plan..' The brunette a small and unimposing woman with a small face with pinched nose but large green eyes lifted a brow and nodded, pulling a small tablet from her bag she began to draft a message to the General about their concerns regarding the breach at Phoenix Nest. Whitney continued 'Set up a diversion for the Alpha Team, we have several ways to get to them, some of the unit are without their partners. Those women are easily obtained and used for our own purposes, speaking of women... Did you sense her?..' a small smirk crept upon her face causing her features to appear pixie like, shaking her head she stopped her drafting and turned to look fully at him. He looked old, one would say old. But then anyone who knew him would only need to look into his eyes, the fire for his work was still there and it showed, she had been with him for more than fifteen years and had been a part of the program herself 'If Amari was there, she would not have shown herself to us. She thinks there is still a way to save me from you, despite the evidence to prove I am willingly at your side she ignores it. We are kindred spirits the Arctic Fox and I. Our paths will cross again..' falling silent she returned to the draftings once more leaving Peter Whitney to his own thoughts, studying Violet he smiled affectionately at her. She was loyal to a fault but she was the best telepath he'd ever seen in action, save only for the Arctic Fox, frowning as an image of the young woman passed his mind he turned away from Violet. Amari Rose had caused more problems for him than he ever thought possible, he'd adopted her from Great Britain. He'd laughed upon arriving at the dump he was ultimately rescuing her from, far from great it was a dump. 

She was two years old with bright blonde hair and vivid blue eyes that had immediately captivated him, he knew simply from the look in her eyes that she was special, the matron of the care home he picked her up from said the other children stayed away from the temperamental toddler. With his background so public in the scientific academic world the young Amari's adoption by Whitney went smoothly and he had full guardianship over the girl before he had properly introduced himself, flying her back to the states he began testing right away. The original girls were kept in cells with glass windows so that they were easy to monitor, with several different abilities showing in his girls Amari showed great promise when he discovered that the part of the brain which the gene was active in was far larger than any of the other test subjects which meant that her powers could well be limitless. After several years under intense training involving sensory deprivation amongst other things her Telepathic and Telekinetic skills were already at an extraordinary level. But she was volatile and more so than the others, the psychic backlash she suffered too was far worse than anyone else. The 'bleeds' as he called them happened for hours after her tests with him, by the time she was a teenager it was too much for him to deal with, she had remained isolated for months only a handful of people including Whitney ever came into contact with Amari. By the time she was fifteen she was resentful and after several failed escape attempts she actually succeeded in slipping passed the guards and doctors and escaping the Whitney mansion, when he heard of her disappearance he was outraged; the guards whom were supposed to be keeping his test subjects in were immediately dispatched and he used his military connections to try and find Amari, he was unprepared to let her go for he had put too much work into training and enhancing her abilities. Shaken from his thoughts by the team standing up and exiting the truck he too slowly rose from his bench and moved towards the safe house that held his laboratories.

Back at the Alpha teams own Base Amari Rose sat alone on the roof of the large manor house owned by one of the teams wives, far off the beaten track and with little traffic around for miles in any direction the manor made the perfect safe location for the GhostWalkers and their families, Amari however had no family; none bar Violet. And Violet was with Whitney, contrary to popular belief she was not entirely blind regarding Violets betrayal against the girls. In the beginning there had been thirteen original test subjects, all female. Amari had been one of the first generation test subjects, Violet had been a fifth generation. Before her permanent isolation from the world Violet and Amari had been inseparable and even after her escape from Whitney the two had remained firm friends Violet always helped Amari escape the scientist; alerting her when Whitney got a hit on her location. But that had all changed when she had sided completely with Whitney and openly stood against her brother and sisters in combat, Amari had been an sent at the time but stories reached her. For so long she believed Violet to be a captive of Whitney, wishing to leave but not having the power or strength to do so. But the truth had been clear for everyone to see and eventually she had to face facts. Lifting her face to the breeze the blonde looked across the land surrounding the posh estate, out there somewhere Whitney was planning another batch of Super Soldiers, somewhere out their her sisters were hidden away in cells for the deranged Scientists breeding programme.

Sensing movement behind her the blonde pulled herself up and maneuvered herself off the roof and back into the estate via the open window, spotting Lily Whitney heading into the large drawing room the blonde lowered her head and made to move passed Lily however the taller blonde had other ideas and placed a hand on Amari's arm, stopping her from leaving 'You've been distant for too long Amari. The others are happy they've got you onside but I know that you won't stay long. They need you. We need you..' Rubbing her large belly she smiled sadly knowing that as soon as hers and Ryland Millers son was born Whitney would be coming for them once again, if saddened her that the man whom had raised her had turned so cold against her, it wasn't her fault it was his. Lily would have never betrayed Whitney had he not added the pairing gene that drew pairs to one another afterthought meeting Ryland she couldn't be without him, what more did her father expect from her. Sighing she left Amari's arm go and shook her head 'Just think about the rest of us before you disappear into the night again..' With that Lily Whitney turned on her heel and left Amari with her chaotic thoughts, the Arctic Fox cursed quietly under her breath, she'd know Lily all her life and she knew that the blonde could see right through her and whilst it unsettled her greatly she had to admit that Lily was right. She'd only joined the Alpha team to get closer to Whitney but they seemed to be one step behind him everytime and she was fast losing patience, sighing she left the drawing room and made her way down the stairs and to the basement where the teams operations took place.


End file.
